By OLIVIER BERNIER: Olivier Bernier's most recent book is ''Louis XIV: A Royal Life'' (Doubleday)

LEAD: Its owner was impossible, its architect impractical, its workers often unpaid; it was the wrong building at the wrong time in the wrong climate, a visionary extravagance that affronted many of its visitors and was abandoned within 30 years of...

Zipcar members will soon be able to cross the Atlantic and unlock a fleet of cars parked throughout London and other cities in England. Earlier this week, Zipcar, the car-sharing company based in Cambridge, Mass., that lets members reserve a car...

By LOUIS HEREN, Louis Heren is a former deputy editor of The Times of London

LEAD: Brighton is known as the princely resort, and for once the boosters' claim is not hyperbole. The Prince Regent's Royal Pavilion is as splendid and exotic as Kublai Khan's pleasure dome, and the Regency squares and terraces built for his...

These are excerpts from recent posts in the Globespotters series, a travelers' guide to cities around the world, hosted on the In Transit blog. Full entries can be found at nytimes.com/globespotters. One of Britain's favorite celebrity chefs,...